This invention relates to fiber reinforced composites containing fibers of a specified carbonaceous material as reinforcing fibers and a process for preparing the same. More particularly, this invention relates to carbonaceous fiber reinforced composite materials of a specified carbonaceous fiber in synthetic resins such as thermoplastic resin, thermosetting resin, or rubber matrixes.
Fiber reinforced composites are well known materials and have been used in many industrial fields such as in the aerospace and automotive industries. There has been a growing demand in these industries for the development of high performance composite materials, especially composite materials having high strength, high ridigity, vibration and/or high impact resistance.
It is known to form composites by including a reinforcing fiber in a synthetic resin matrix. For example, various reinforcing fibers and multifilament yarns and woven fabrics made from such fibers are known for reinforcing plastics. The reinforcing fibers include for example, carbon and graphite fibers, glass fibers, polyaramide fibers, silicon carbide fibers and metal fibers. The resin matrixes used with the reinforcing fiber material have included, for example unsaturated polyester resins, epoxy resins, phenol resins and polyimide resins.
Many of the composites of the prior art, while offering high strength and rigidity, do not provide sufficient vibration and/or impact resistance to form a satisfactory material for various end uses such as structural dampening, outer body panels of vehicles and aricraft or turbine blades. In addition, in many of the composites delamination occurs between the fiber and resin matrix when the composite is subjected to shear stresses, which may result in the composite failing in some uses.
It is desired to provide a novel composite material directed to a resin matrix reinforced with a carbonaceous fiber having excellent impact resistance and excellent adhesion to the resin matrix which does not delaminate or cause propagation of cracks when the composite is subjected to stresses and further having the following advantages over the prior art such as improved ability to take up the resin and be more easily and readily formed over complicated structural shapes prior to the addition of the resin.